MINNEAPOLIS — The Timberwolves, in the midst of a fight for their playoff lives, will reportedly get a serious shot in the arm with the return of a big man who is arguably their franchise player.
Center/forward Karl-Anthony Towns will be in the lineup Wednesday night at home against the Atlanta Hawks barring a setback in warmups, according to reports from NBA insiders Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski.
His return is not a slam dunk: In their most recent status report released at 12:25 p.m. Wednesday, the Timberwolves still have Towns listed as "questionable" to play for tonight's game.
Towns has missed the past 51 games with a calf injury, as the remade Timberwolves have tried to find their game without him. The club is currently 9th in the Western Conference and would qualify for a play-in playoff game, but is on a skid while winning just two of its last five contests.
In the 21 contests he has played during the 2022-23 season, Towns is averaging 20.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
The injury to Towns' calf has been the source of reported friction between the big man and Timberwolves management. Initially it was described as a short-term, milder strain that would only keep him out four to six weeks, but Towns recently told The Athletic that was never the timeline he and the Timberwolves discussed after doctors diagnosed his injury. A setback in January forced him to start the rehab process all over again, and Towns says he began to get the impression fans thought he wasn't trying 100% to get back on the court.
“I wish we communicated a little better so the fans didn’t have a false narrative that I was the one holding off,” Towns told The Athletic. “I’ve never in all my years have I done anything remotely close to that. I want fans to know that.”
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